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The Premier League's bottom side fell to their 10th straight defeat with a 4-2 defeat at home to the Saints.

Brad Guzan 4.5/10 – Made three decent saves but fumbled several crosses and looked slow to react on at least two of Southampton’s goals.

Alan Hutton 5/10 – Battled admirably but had no answer to a dominant Dusan Tadic display.

Micah Richards 5/10 – Forced off at the break after picking up a knock during the latter stages of the first half. His performance up until then was subpar at best.

Joleon Lescott 4/10 – Booed throughout and made to look stupid on Southampton’s second goal. Some poor marking also led to Shane Long’s 15th-minute opener.

Aly Cissokho 5.5/10 – Arguably Villa’s best defender on the day but that’s hardly saying much. Rumours of an impending move to Besiktas suggest that his time in the Midlands is almost up.

Carlos Sanchez 5.5/10 – Put in a decent defensive shift but his distribution was all over the place as usual. Taken off for Grealish with 22 minutes remaining.

Ashley Westwood 7/10 – Answered his critics with a spirited performance, grabbing both of Villa’s goals and running his socks off. He can be an important contributor in the Championship next season.

Idrissa Gana 5.5/10 – Full of running but without much real purpose. Culpable for some lax defending on the fourth goal, although he wasn’t alone in that respect.

Leandro Bacuna 4/10 – Gifted Southampton their second goal with a backpass that was so horrendous it looked like he did it on purpose.

Scott Sinclair 5/10 – Had a few bright moments on the ball but otherwise failed to prove much of a threat.

Jordan Ayew 6/10 – Set up Westwood’s first goal and impressed with his work rate in the thankless role of lone striker. Decision to substitute him just before the hour was met with a chorus of boos from the home crowd.

SUBSTITUTES

Kevin Toner (Richards 46) 6/10 – Brought on for his Villa debut, the Irishman looked like an upgrade over both Richards and Lescott. Credited with the assist for the second goal after getting a slight touch on Grealish’s cross before it reached Westwood on the left-hand side of the box.

Rudy Gestede (Ayew 59) 6/10 – Proved a handful with his size and strength but couldn’t finish the handful of chances that fell to him.

Freddie Shires

Freddie is a freelance sports writer, having recently completed an MA in Sports Journalism at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. With an especially keen interest in all things American sports-related, he has written extensively about the NFL, MLS and the U.S. national team for various sites.